Insole with a laminated cushion forepart



y 1952 H. PIERSON $598,297

INSOLE WITH A LAMINATED CUSHION FOREPART Filed Dec. 23, 1950 mull!!- IN V EN TOR. HAROLD L. PIER$0N AT TORNEY Patented May 27, 1952 INSOLE WITH A LAMINATED CUSHION FOREPART Harold L. Pierson, Sea Breeze, N. Y., assignor to E. P. Reed & 00., Rochester, N. Y.,- a corporation of New York Application December 23, 1950, Serial-No. 202,486

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a shoe insole and has for its purpose to provide a soft, resilient, flexible and durable insole which can be successfully used in the manufacture of either sewed or cemented shoes.

Various types of cushion insoles have been proposed in the past but all these have presented objections of one sort or another such as excessive stiffness, lack of sufiicient wearing qualities, breakdown of the cushioning material, insuflicient flexibility and consequent discomfort to the wearer, formation of uneven surfaces upon which the foot is supported, excessive softness, or impracticability of manufacture, and it is a purpose of this invention to overcome the obstacles encountered with former structures and to provide an insole that can be economically manufactured, can be used in the construction of either cemented or sewed shoes, and will give the desired results and satisfactory service throughout the life of the outer sole.

One of the greatest objections to cushion in soles as heretofore provided in ladies shoes has been that the cushion material breaks down or disintegrates and produces unevenness and roughness against the foot long before the outer sole of the shoe is worn to any substantial extent, and it is a particular purpose of the invention to afford an insole that is soft but firm, resilient, and flexible and which will comfortably support the foot indefinitely and wear satisfactorily as long as the outer sole is serviceable.

In a more particular aspect, the invention is intended to provide an insole having a stiff shank and heel portion and a forward ball and toe portion connected to the shank and heel portion, and consisting of a relatively thick cushion layer formed from a sheet of compressed composition of cork and latex having a strengthening layer of thin loosely woven fabric cemented to one surface of the cushion layer for attachment to the upper and outside, and an inner layer of a thin soft flexible leather split secured by cement to the other surface of the cushion layer and located toward the foot of the wearer, the several plies or layers composing the forward portion of the insole being coextensive one with the other and each of uniform thickness throughout whereby the entire forward portion of the insole is of uniform thickness throughout and presents under the entire ball and toe portion of the foot a smooth, continuous, and uninterrupted surface that is soft, flexible, resilient, and yet firm and resistant against disintegration or formation of uneven areas.

Still a further purpose of the invention is to afford a shoe insole including a cushion layer of such material and attached to inner and outer layers of such material that a sewing rib can successfully be stitched to the insole when the latter is to be attached to the upper of a sewed shoe, and which affords a more uniform and satisfactory attachment between an outsole and insole when these parts are secured by cement and without stitching, as in the structure of application Serial No. 202,484, filed December 23, 1950.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a shoe insole that is practical and economical in its manufacture and which when embodied in a cemented shoe affords a maximum cementing area and a more eiiicient and durable bond between the outer and inner soles, and which when embodied in a sewed shoe will successfully hold a sewing rib for attachment of an upper without injuring or otherwise affecting the proper functioning of the cushion layer.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the following de-- scription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the novel features being pointed out in the claim following the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an insole constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment oi the invention;

Fig. 2 is a'view in edge elevation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view takenon line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the several views, the insole comprises a soft, flexible and slightly compressible forward ball and toe portion that will be described in detail presently, and a shank and heel portion designated at lwhich is symmetrical in form and composed of stiff fiberboard or other suitable stiif material. The shank portion is pref erably slightly thicker than the forward ball and toe portion and bevelled slightly at its forward edge as indicated at 2 to a thickness approximating that of the forward portion.

The forward edge of the rear shank portion is along a straight line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rear portion l and the straight forward edge-of the rear portion butts against 3 the straight rear edge of the forward ball and toe portion, forming a butt joint therewith, the forward and rear portions being connected by zigzag stitching 3 which extends across the butt joint and penetrates the adjacent surfaces of the forward and rear portions of the insole. By forming the rear shank and heel portion symmetrically, it is possible to use the same units for both right and left shoes, thus simplifying and reducing materially the cost of manufacture,

and by providing a zigzag-stitch connection between the adjacent portions of the stiff rear shank and heel portion and the flexible, soft forward portion, these parts are permanently connected in such a manner as to prevent any relative endwise movement between the forward and rear portions while at the same time permitting the necessary swinging or hinging movement of the forward portion with relation to the rear portion so as to permit flexing of the forward or ball portion of the shoe.

A relatively thick stiff shank and heel portion is essential for holding an outer sole and giving proper support to the arch and heel portions of the foot, and a main objective of the invention is to provide such a shank and heel portion while connecting it to a forward ball and toe portion that is sufficiently soft, light-weight, resilient and flexible to afford satisfactory comfort to the wearer, also to permit incorporating the insole in a A neat, trim, and light-weight shoe with satisfactory durability and wearing qualities, thus overcoming one of the greatest problems in shoe manufacture. namely. to construct a soft and comfortable light-weight shoe that will wear as satisfactorily as shoes in which the forward part of the insole is stiffer and heavier. Heretofore it has been necessary to employ an insole having a relatively stiff, hard forward portion on which the ball of the foot rests, in order to impart suificient strength and durability to the shoe, and this objection has been successfully overcome by the present invention through the instrumentality of an insole forward portion of several layers or plies of selected material as will now be described in detail.

The forward portion of the insole comprises an intermediate cushion layer 4 that is cut from a sheet of soft, slightly compressible, readily flexible, and resilient material, preferably a highly I compressed composition of cork and latex, and attached over one entire surface of the intermediate cushion layer is an outer strengthening layer 5 that is secured tothe cushion layer by means of latex or other suitable cement, and preferably consists of a thin, light-weight, loosely woven cotton fabric. Satisfactory results have been obtained by the use of light-weight loosely woven cotton print cloth, which acts to hold the intermediate cushion layer 4 securely and to prevent spreading or disintegration of the cushion layer after a period of time, imparting the necessary strength to the intermediate cushion layer to permit' stitching through the same for attaching a sewing rib without fracturing or injuring the cushion layer when the insole is employed for making sewed shoes. The strengthening layer 5 of loosely woven cotton fabric has the further function of establishing a secure bond with the intermediate cushion layer 4 by means of adherence of the latex or other cement between the fibers of thestrengthening layer and the rough surface of the intermediate cushion layer, and also affords a secure bond between the strength,- eninglayer 5' and the upper when the insolev is 4 employed in the construction of a cemented shoe, in which case the upper is attached to the strengthening layer 5 by means of latex or other suitable cement and the outsole is attached to the upper by means of pyroxylin or other suitable cement.

On the opposite surface of the intermediate cushion layer 4 there is provided an inner layer 6 preferably out from a thin, light-weight, soft leather split which has a roughened surface on both sides similar to the flesh side of a leather split, with one of said surfaces attached to the opposite surface of the intermediate cushion layer 4 by means of latex or other suitable cement, while the other surface of the leather split faces the interior of the shoe when incorporated therein.

In manufacturing practice, a sheet of the material from which the outer strengthening layer 5 is formed is cemented to the entire surface of a large sheet of material from which the intermediate cushion layer 4 is constructed, namely, highly compressed cork and latex, and from this large sheet there are cut by means of suitable dies pieces corresponding to the shape of the forward ball and toe portion of the insole, after which similarly cut leather split layers are cemented to the entire inner surface of the intermediate cushion layer 4. When completed, the three layers 4, 5 and 5 are all coextensive with each other and of uniform thickness throughout their extent while the forward portion of. the insole which is composed of the three layers 4, 5 and 6 is also of uniform thickness throughout its extent, and approximately the same thickness or of somewhat less thickness than the rear shank and heel portion to which it is connected.

The intermediate cushion layer is preferably about rs in thickness, the leather split is quite thin preferably about 3%" in thickness, and the outer strengthening fabric layer is somewhat thinner than the inner layer and light-weight, yet suificiently strong to retain the intermediate cushion layer permanently in its original form and prevent spreading or fracture thereof. Thus 1 there is afforded an extremely flexible and soft,

yet thin, light-weight, resilient and durable forward portion of an insole, which when embodied in a shoe extends entirely across beneath the ball and toe portion of a foot and gives a soft, yieldable, and extremely flexible support, to insure maximum comfort combined with durability and wearing qualities equal to that of considerably stifler and heavier shoes which lack the desirable comfort, softness and flexibility.

While the invention has been described with reference to the particular construction herein shown, it is not confined to the exact details disclosed and this application is intended to cover such modifications or departures as may come within the purposes of the improvements and the scope of the following claim.

I- claim:

A shoe insole comprising a forward ball and toe portion consisting of a flexible resilient intermediate cushion layer consisting of a blank of compressed composition of cork particles bonded with latex cement, a strengthening outer layer of light-weight thin loosely woven fabric cemented to one entire surface of the cushion layer and coextensive with the cushion layer, and a thin, soft, light-weight flexible leather inner layer cemented to the entire opposite surface of: the cushion layer and coextensive therewith, said forward portic'nbeing ofuni-iorm thickness throughout and each of said three layers composing the same being of uniform thickness throughout, and an attached single-ply rear shank and heel portion of material stiffer than said forward portion and a thickness the same as the thickness of the forward portion at the point of attachment thereto and thicker than the forward portion in rear of said point of attachment.

HAROLD L. PInRsoN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Re. 4,547 744,850

Number 15 141,264

Name Date Johnson Sept. 12, 1871 Worth Nov. 24, 1903 Simmons Aug. 22, 1933 Miller Sept. 12, 1933 Brown Nov. 3, 1942 Everston May 9, 1944 Everston Aug. 21, 1945 Mees Aug. 6, 1946 Lumbard June 12, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Austria Apr. 10, 1935 

